Digital Mackin’

There’s a pretty interesting article in the NY Times about BlackBerries and the dating scene in Washington D.C. It talks about how pervasive the devices are and how they’ve largely replaced telephone conversations for macking. As one person put it:

It’s made it much more efficient, much more direct,” Mr. Donnelly said of the effect on his love life. “A 15-minute phone conversation can be abbreviated into a 10-second, one-sentence e-mail.

And you know true players are all about efficiency. That reminds me of a good friend of mine who hated taking on the phone. He’d always tell women that any phone conversation with hime should take less than 5 minutes. He’d be like “unless you’re calling to tell me you’re one your way over here we have nothing to talk about.” LMAO.

Of course all of the stuf fin the article applies to text messaging in general. I know I’ve found myself doing some of the things in the article on my Treo. Like there’s no need for a late night booty call when you can text message instead. (Of course if you want to wake the person up a call will likely work better.)

The devices have given Washington professionals a way to Ping-Pong witty messages back and forth with potential love interests around the clock. The BlackBerry’s mobility makes exchanging personal e-mail at all hours a lot more convenient than using a computer, and it offers protection from the awkwardness that voice communication can present.

Never mind liquid courage: this is digital courage.

“You no longer have the classic dilemma in Washington, which is such a conservative town: `Is it too late for me to call?’ ” Mr. Cabrera said. “Instead, you can simply and safely send a Berry. If they are awake they will respond, and if they are not, they won’t.”

Mr. Donnelly, the wireless executive, has also found his BlackBerry useful when the telephone fails him. He once saw a romantic interest walk into a bar and immediately called her on her cellphone. “I saw her look at the phone and put me right to voice mail,” he said, still indignant. But then he sent her a BlackBerry message, which made her laugh and prompted her to walk over and find him.

Congressional aides, whose average age is under 35, now flirt via BlackBerry in staff meetings, often right under the boss’s nose. For those who do not want to raise the eyebrows of friends, the device offers a discreet way to coordinate leaving a bar with someone. And many users testify to the effectiveness of the late-night Berry overture — a short, apparently innocuous inquiry (“What are you up to?” or “Where are you?”) sent at an hour when calling might seem too forward.

Ah, you’ve gotta love how people put technology to work! I bet DC will really be jumping off now that they have DodgeBall. They may even start their own version of toothing. Maybe I should name it now — DodgeBallin’, or Ballin’ for short. 😮